Oil Prices Tumble on Hopes for Middle East Deal

Global oil prices slid five percent Friday on optimism over negotiations aimed at reopening the key Strait of Hormuz and ending the Middle East war.

International benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, shed 5.0 percent to $85.86 a barrel, on hopes of unblocking the waterway through which large amounts of the world's oil and gas are shipped.

The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, lost 5.0 percent to $83.32 a barrel.